Forrest Gump

Ratings : * Avoidable ** Average *** Good **** Must Watch

The film begins with a feather falling to the feet of Forrest Gump who is sitting at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia. Forrest picks up the feather and puts it in the book Curious George, then tells the story of his life to a woman seated next to him. The listeners at the bus stop change regularly throughout his narration, each showing a different attitude ranging from disbelief and indifference to rapt veneration.

On his first day of school, he meets a girl named Jenny, whose life is followed in parallel to Forrest's at times. Having discarded his leg braces, his ability to run at lightning speed gets him into college on a football scholarship. After his college graduation, he enlists in the army and is sent to Vietnam, where he makes fast friends with a black man named Bubba, who convinces Forrest to go into the shrimping business with him when the war is over. Though Forrest ends up saving much of his platoon, Bubba is killed in action. Forrest is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism.

While Forrest is in recovery for a bullet shot to his "butt-tox", he discovers his uncanny ability for ping-pong, eventually gaining popularity and rising to celebrity status, later playing ping-pong competitively against Chinese teams. At an anti-war rally in Washington, D.C. Forrest reunites with Jenny, who has been living a hippie counterculture lifestyle.

Returning home, Forrest endorses a company that makes ping-pong paddles, earning himself $25,000, which he uses to buy a shrimping boat, fulfilling his promise to Bubba. His commanding officer from Vietnam, Lieutenant Dan, joins him. Though initially Forrest has little success, after finding his boat the only surviving boat in the area after Hurricane Carmen, he begins to pull in huge amounts of shrimp and uses it to buy an entire fleet of shrimp boats. Lieutenant Dan invests the money in Apple Computer and Forrest is financially secure for the rest of his life. He returns home to see his mother's last days.

One day, Jenny returns to visit Forrest and he proposes marriage to her. She declines, though feels obliged to prove her love to him by sleeping with him. She leaves early the next morning. On a whim, Forrest elects to go for a run. Seemingly capriciously, he decides to keep running across the country several times, over some three and a half years, becoming famous.

In present-day, Forrest reveals that he is waiting at the bus stop because he received a letter from Jenny who, having seen him run on television, asks him to visit her. Once he is reunited with Jenny, Forrest discovers she has a young son, of whom Forrest is the father. Jenny tells Forrest she is suffering from a virus (probably HIV, though this is never definitively stated). Together the three move back to Greenbow, Alabama. Jenny and Forrest finally marry. Jenny dies soon afterward.

The film ends with father and son waiting for the school bus on little Forrest's first day of school. Opening the book his son is taking to school, the white feather from the beginning of the movie is seen to fall from within the pages. As the bus pulls away, the white feather is caught on a breeze and drifts skyward.

My Rating : ****

Genre : Comedy/Drama

Director : Robert Zemeckis

Cast : Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field.

Accepted

Ratings : * Avoidable ** Average *** Good **** Must Watch

The plot begins with Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long), a high-school senior who, among other high-school pranks, creates fake IDs. He is stunned when he is rejected by every college he applies to. Bartleby, in an attempt to seek continued approval from his father, whose paternal position is that if Bartleby is not accepted into and subsequently graduates from an accredited institution of higher learning, would then be certainly doomed to complete failure in society, Bartleby seeks to create his own, fake college, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, to make his parents believe that he had been "Accepted" (hence the title of the film).

Having been accepted into the prestigious Harmon College Sherman Schrader III (Jonah Hill), who has been Bartleby's best friend and "partner in crime" since kindergarten, agrees to help out with setting up the scheme. The film's dialogue generally implies that both have always done everything together in life, and one particular line of dialogue suggests that there is an understanding between Bartleby and Schrader that Schrader caused Bartleby's younger sister Lizzie to be born as a result of the theft of Bartleby's mother's birth control pills.

Arriving at the conclusion that they will require a campus to continue the ruse, the group locates and leases an abandoned psychiatric hospital on realty adjacent to the campus of Harmon College, and proceeds to refurbish it. With everything remodeled, the broken-down hospital now satisfactorily resembles a college building. With a functional website, originally created by Schrader to help B mislead his father into believing in the authenticity of South Harmon, the "college" has subsequently been inadvertently accepting applicants, and much to the dismay of Bartleby, the campus is soon brimming with new students. Sherman confirms to Bartleby that the website tagline depicted in the website, "Acceptance is just a Click away!" he made, much to Bartleby's dismay, clickable, by not objecting when Bartleby exclaims "...yeah, but I didn't mean for you to make the link clickable!"

Subsequently, Bartleby, sensing that the group have now been placed under a duty to handle the students and begin the operations of the new "college", proceeds to explain the situation and secures the cooperation ofe Sherman's uncle, the intelligent, highly-educated, socially-conscious (but socially marginalized) Ben Lewis (Lewis Black), who, it is arguably implied in the plot, is (1) an alcoholic; and, (2) a disbarred lawyer (although neither of these plot assertions are depicted to any reasonable extent of certitude) to act as Dean of Students.

A subplot throughout the remainder of the film consists of Schrader attempting to be indoctrinated as a "legacy" into his fraternity house, going to the extreme of humiliating himself, as directed by his prospective fraternity brothers, but culminating in an instance of hazing whereby Schrader is coerced into revealing B's scheme as to South Harmon. Also, during this time, Bartleby's relationship with his high school crush Monica (Blake Lively) develops, as Monica has become disgusted with the conduct of her erstwhile fraternity-president boyfriend.

At one point, Bartleby's sister Lizzie arrives at the campus to "check up" on him and discovers the hoax they have created, but B successfully bribes Lizzie in order to secure her cooperation. Lizzie, after being unable to obtain twenty thousand dollars from B (a comment obviously made in jest as Lizzie, too, realizes Bartleby's duty as to the tuition money) quickly settles for a fake driver's license ("so I can vote") and a motorscooter.

With the few million dollars in tuition money contributed from the South Harmon students, Bartleby uses the funds to expand and upgrade the facility, including expanded dorm rooms and common areas, and also a lot of what initially seem to be entertainment systems, such as a "half pipe" for skateboarding and a large swimming pool, but which are subsequently demonstrated to comprise both an athletic facility and and engineering curriculum facility. Bartleby tells the South Harmon students to concoct additional curricula by describing whatever they feel like doing and listing these activities as their own class subjects, by writing these "subjects" on a whiteboard, depicting classes such as "Do Nothing 101" and "The Art of Sleeping".

The sole exception to this collectively lackadaisical approach is made by Bartleby's friend Glen, who, after having been invited into the scheme by co-conspirator Rory, creates a structured culinary arts curriculum through refurbishing the building's commercial-grade kitchen. One of the high points of the film's dialogue occurs when Glen, after a muffled explosion is heard emanating from the kitchen, emerges to exclaim to Bartleby and Monica that "I'm working with some very unstable herbs!"

Otherwise, however, the remainder of the entire student body is shown simply sitting around and partying all day. One such party was the "S.H.I.T. Party", which consists a huge party filled with dancing and music, and during this party the actual band, The Ringers, performed their song "Keepin' Your Head Up". Upon learning of the event, several of the Harmon fraternity members and their girlfriends arrive. They confront Monica, at Bartleby's side, and Hoyt trips the fire suppression system, which, upon raining water down on the S.H.I.T.-head revellers, collectively decide to have a "wet T-shirt party".

Word of this unauthorized campus, obstructing his aspiration of an adjacent park-like "buffer zone to keep intellect in and ignorance out" soon makes its way to the Dean of the nearby Harmon College, Dean Van Horne. Later, Bartleby is surprised when the parents of S.H.I.T. students arrive at the campus (a flyer had been distributed by Hoyt Ambrose of Harmon inviting the parents of South Harmon students to a "Parents' Day").
Still pursuing his agenda of an adjacent park-like setting to augment the Harmon campus, a falsely righteously indignant Van Horne then arrives. Also present are officers of the state police who observe the situation and determine that no criminal activity is in progress. Van Horne then proceeds to unilaterally and conclusorily announce to all of the parents and students present that the "school" is a scam.

Deferring to Van Horne's apparent, but ultimately-proven-to-be-illusory authority, Bartleby concedes to his parents the scheme about South Harmon, and the South Harmon students accompany their disappointed parents away. Disappointing his father once again, Bartleby feels that all hope is lost. He rides his bike to the now roped-off campus and stops to look through the various mailpieces placed on the "school's" front stoop. Bartleby discovers to his surprise that one of the envelopes contains a letter which is a notice of the scheduling of an accreditation hearing regarding South Harmon's petition before the Ohio Board of Accreditation. Schrader had secretly applied to the state board on behalf of South Harmon. He has decided that despite his skepticism, he now wants to be a part of South Harmon, or as Schrader puts it, "I want to be a S.H.I.T. head!".

The Ohio Board of Accreditation schedules an administrative tribunal to conduct a hearing to consider the merits of the application on behalf of South Harmon. During the hearing, at which Rory ensures the entire South Harmon student body is in attendance, Bartleby makes a speech about following their own dreams, and not being restricted to what the school allows them to do. He claims schools such as Harmon College are great--but they limit the creativity of students, whereas at South Harmon, students could find their talents and set their own goals.

The board, after deliberating on the various oratories of the South Harmon petitioners, collectively agrees, and grants the South Harmon Institute of Technology a one-year probation and supervision to further what the board characterizes as South Harmon's 'experimental programs'.

The film concludes with Bartleby being seen off by his family for a new semester at South Harmon, and with Schrader climbing the stairs on his way to teach "Advanced Skepticism 401." An epilogue scene has Van Horne walking to his empty BMW car which then explodes, mob-style, causing Van Horne's eyes to begin welling with tears, ostensibly in sorrow at the loss of his obviously beloved status-symbol vehicle, at which point the scene shifts to a shocked Bartleby next to his fellow South Harmon student (who previously indicated his curricular contribution to be "Learn to Blow Shit up with your Mind") (Freaky Student/Jaison Trumar) who, inexplicably, says to Bartleby, "Told ya."

My Rating : ***
Genre : Comedy/Drama
Director : Steve Pink
Cast : Justin Long, Jonah Hill, Lewis Black, Columbus Black

Saving Private Ryan

Ratings : * Avoidable ** Average *** Good **** Must Watch

An elderly veteran (Harrison Young) and his family visits the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Normandy, France, where he collapses to one knee in front of a gravestone, overcome with emotion.

The scene changes to the beginning of the invasion of Normandy, with American soldiers landing on Omaha Beach and struggling against dug-in German Army infantry and machinegun nests. One of the men who survive the initial landing, Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, rallies a group of soldiers and slowly penetrates the German defenses leading to a breakout from the beach.

In the United States, General George C. Marshall discovers that three of the four brothers of the Ryan family have all died within days of each other and that their mother will receive all three notices on t he same day. He learns that the fourth son, Private First Class James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon) of the 1st Battalion 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment is missing in action somewhere in France. He orders that he be found and sent home immediately.

Back in France, Miller receives orders from Lieutenant Colonel Walter Anderson (Dennis Farina) to find Private Ryan, and assembles a squad of seven Rangers, plus one man detailed from the 29th Infantry Division (Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Goldberg and Jeremy Davies as the man from the 29th) to accomplish this task. With no information about Ryan's whereabouts, Miller and his men move from town to town, rendezvousing with other American units and trading information while venturing deeper into enemy territory. Following several false leads and the loss of Caparzo (Diesel) at the hands of a sniper, Miller locates a friend of Ryan’s, who reveals that Ryan is defending a strategically-important bridge over the Merderet River in the fictional town of Ramelle.

Along the Journey, Miller decides to take the opportunity to neutralize a small German machine gun position close to an abandoned radar station. In the ensuing skirmish the squad's medic, Wade (Ribisi) is fatally wounded. The last surviving German incurs the wrath of the squad members, except for Upham (Davies) who he befriends. Miller decides to let the German walk away and surrender himself to the next allied patrol, a decision viewed by Reiben (Burns) as letting the enemy go free. No longer confident in the leadership of Miller, Reiben declares his intention to desert, prompting a tense confrontation with Horvath (Sizemore) that threatens to tear the squad apart until Miller resolves the situation and Reiben decides to stay. The squad finally arrives on the outskirts of Ramell e where they destroy a German reconnaissance unit with the help of some American soldiers, one of them Ryan. The unit regroups in Ramelle, joining with the American paratroopers defending the town, where Captain Miller informs Ryan of his brothers' deaths and of their mission to bring him home. Ryan adamantly refuses to leave his makeshift unit, demanding that he remain to help defend the bridge against an impending German counter-attack. Miller reluctantly agrees and orders his unit to help defend the bridge in the upcoming battle, taking command and setting up the defense with what little manpower they have.

The Germans arrive in force supported by tanks and armored vehicles. Miller leads the defense but in spite of inflicting significant German casualties most of his remaining squad members are killed and the American unit is slowly pushed back by superior numbers and firepower. The defenders retreat across the bridge, suffering further casualties, pursued by gunfire and an advancing German Tiger Tank. In the middle of an American attempt to blow the bridge Miller is shot and fatally wounded. Just before the Tiger reaches the bridge, an American P-51 Mustang swoops down and destroys the tank, followed by more Mustang fighters and advancing American infantry who assault the town and rout the remaining German forces. Ryan, Reiben and Upham are the only main characters to survive the battle. Ryan is with Miller as he dies and hears his last words, "James... earn this. Earn it."

Back in the present, the elderly veteran is revealed to be Ryan and the grave Miller's. Ryan asks his wife to confirm that he has been a 'good man' and thus worthy of Miller's and the other's sacrifice as the camera pans down the gravestones to the American flag and fades out.

My Rating : ****
Genre : Action/War
Director : Steven Spielberg
Cast : Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Matt Damon.

Troy

Ratings : * Avoidable ** Average *** Good **** Must Watch

Agamemnon of Mycenae and his army are in Thessaly, Greece, looking to expand their military might and empire. His army prepares to engage in combat against a host of soldiers under Thessaly's king, Triopas. Rather than suffer great losses, the King of Thessaly agrees to avoid unnecessary deaths by settling the matter through a decisive match between the heroes of the opposing armies. The King of Thessaly summons his greatest and most accomplished warrior, Boagrius. Agamemnon shouts for Achilles, who is still at a small village. A messenger is sent out to get him. Achilles arrives and defeats Boagrius, killing him with a single sword thrust. Accepting defeat, the King of Thessaly presents Achilles with a scepter as a token for his King, which he refuses saying "He's not my king."

Agamemnon has to call upon Achilles again when his brother Menelaus seeks revenge on the Trojan Prince Paris for eloping with his wife, Helen of Sparta. Paris' warrior brother—Hector—is not pleased to learn of this affair and when he returns to Troy, he urges their father, King Priam, to return the young woman to Sparta. But Priam puts too much faith in his high priests and their interpretation of how Apollo will react. Accordingly—and with Agamemnon realizing that a victory over Troy would give him complete control over the Aegean—the Greeks amass the largest naval force ever known to man and set sail for Troy. It is also Thetis wh o tells Achilles of a prophecy she had learned of that stated that if he does not go to the war he will find peace and have a family of his own but he will eventually be forgotten. If he chooses to go to Troy, his name will last for eternity but he will die there. Achilles cannot resist the glory of such fame and heads for Troy.

The Trojan Horse The Greeks land at Troy and are able to take control of the beach on the first day of the war. Achilles and the Myrmidons are able to defeat many Trojans but also desecrate the Trojan temple of Apollo and kill the unarmed priests that reside there. Briseis, a member of the Trojan royal family who has chosen to dedicate her live to service to the gods, is captured and serves as a prize for Achilles, though she is far from a willing captive. After the battle, Achilles is annoyed that, though he and his Myrmidons spearheaded the battle, the other kings who serve Agamemnon pay him tribute in honor of 'his' (Agamemnon's) great victory. Offended by what he sees as Achilles' disrespectful and disobedient attitude, Agamemnon unwisely deliberately humiliates Achilles by using his authority as the high king to take Briseis from him and repeatedly telling him that there is nothing he can do about it and he, Agamemnon, is more powerful and important than Achilles. Only Briseis' pleas stop Achilles from slaughtering Agamemnon and his men right there (foolishly, Agamemnon taunts him as being humbled by a female slave.) Achilles leaves, but before going, promises Agamemnon to his face he will see Agamemnon dead before his own life ends.

When the Greek army marches upon Troy, it is without Achilles and the Myrmidons; Achilles, fed up with Agamemnon, refuses to fight or allow the Myrmidons to fight until Agamemnon regrets belittling him. With the Trojan army beneath the walls of Troy and the Greek army surrounding it, Paris, feeling guilt for having brought the threat of war upon Troy, challenges Menelaus to a duel. Paris battles with Menelaus but loses badly. Paris, terrified of dying, crawls back to Hector's feet. Menelaus intends to kill Paris at Hector's feet but Hector steps in to protect his brother and kills Menelaus - guaranteeing that the war will continue. Hector kills Ajax and the increasingly energized Trojans press their attack against the uncoordinated Greeks. Without Achilles and his Myrmidons, and with the Trojan archers upon the walls of Troy free to shower arrows upon the Greeks, the battle quickly turns against the Greeks. With command of the battle lost, Agamemnon grudgingly bows to Odysseus's pleas to withdraw, and the Greeks retreat to the beach.

Briseis has been given to some men by the king after their poor performance in battle as a "morale booster". Achilles saves her from being raped and branded. He then takes her back to his tent. Achilles attempts to clean her wounds but she fights him away. Briseis considers killing Achilles as he sleeps. However, she does not carry it through because Achilles sexually tempts her by pulling her on his bed and lifting her skirt. Achilles penetrates Briseis and they end up sleeping together. The next night the two are in bed talking, when Achilles tells her that he is leaving in the morning.

The Trojans attack the Greek camp at dawn. Frustrated at not getting a chance to fight, Patroclus takes Achilles' armor and joins the battle. He brings courage to the Greeks, as they mistake him for Achilles, and eventually fights man-to-man against Hector. In the fight with Hector, Patroclus' throat is cut: this energizes the Trojans and dismays the Greeks, until Hector, sensing something wrong, pulls Achilles's helmet off and finds Patroclus, a young boy, dying slowly because of the nature of his wound. Grieved at having slain one so young, Hector gives him a killing blow out of mercy. When Achilles finds out, he is consumed by grief and rage, and walks toward the beach. T he next day he and Hector gear up to fight each other. Achilles marches toward the Trojan gates to fight Hector. Hector stops the city's archers from opening fire and goes down to face Achilles in battle. Ultimately, Achilles wins when he does a 360 degree spin and spears Hector in the chest; then delivers the final blow. He then ties Hector's body to the back of his chariot and drags it along the dirt. That night King Priam goes to the Greek army's camp to get Hector's body back. Achilles agrees and lets Priam take Briseis back as well. He assures Priam that 12 days are allowed for a proper funeral service for Prince Hector.

During the 12 days that Troy mourns Hector's death, the Greeks devise a plan to enter the city, using a hollowed-out wooden horse, devised by Odysseus. The Greeks leave the horse on their camp site then withdraw leaving the horse on the beach in the remains of their camp. Paris warns Priam about the horse, but Priam neglects his warning and brings the horse into Troy for celebration. However a Trojan scout sees the Greeks still at the bay but gets shot by an arrow before he can deliver the news. Assuming victory, the Trojans, against the advice of Paris (who says to burn it), take the horse into the city and celebrate. That night, the Greeks, hidden inside the horse, launch a surprise attack and open the gates of Troy to allow the Greek army inside the city walls. Paris refuses to leave and hands the Sword of Troy to Aeneas, quoting his father by telling Aeneas that as long as the Sword of Troy remains in the hands of a Trojan, the people have a future. Priam yells to the Greeks who break statues in the temple and says "Have you no honor?" but is killed by Agamemnon.

Achilles frantically searches for Briseis, who is at the shrine of Apollo being threatened by Agamemnon. Agamemnon tells her that she will be his sexual slave. She kills him with a concealed knife, and is saved from Agamemnon's guards when Achilles reaches her. Paris, who manages to find Achilles and Briseis, shoots an arrow that goes straight through Achilles' heel. He shoots Achilles full of arrows, mortally wounding him. Achilles, after pulling out every arrow in his body (save the one piercing his heel,) then delivers his last words, "You gave me peace in a lifetime of war." as he passes into death. Briseis tearfully leaves the city with Paris after Achilles assures her that "Everything's all right, go."

After a last disorganized and futile attempt by surviving Trojan soldiers to repel the invaders, the battle ends and the Greeks storm the inner palace only to find that Achilles has died just a few moments earlier. They perform the funeral rituals for him the next morning.

My Rating : ***

Genre : Action/Epic

Director : Wolfgang Petersen

Cast : Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, Dian Kruger.

Phone Booth

Ratings : * Avoidable ** Average *** Good **** Must Watch

The narrator begins by mentioning all the phone calls made every day. Enter Stu Shepard (Farrell), an arrogant, selfish, lying, foul-mouthed publicist, who contemplates cheating on his wife Kelly (Mitchell). Every day after work he calls Pam (Holmes), a young actress whom Stu fancies, and only pretends to be making a star out of, from the phone booth between 53rd and 8th. When a pizza guy tries to deliver a pizza to the booth Stu rudely dismisses him.

Stu calls Pam, and says that he'd love to introduce her to some important people but is told she doesn't have time. After the phone call, the phone rings and Stu answers it.

The caller is a man (Sutherland) who says that he should've accepted the pizza, and also that he should not leave the booth. When Stu asks who it is, the man says "Someone who enjoys watching you". S tu soon realizes that the man he's talking to can see him and looks around the many windows surrounding him. The man says that he'll say hi to his wife Kelly for him, then hangs up. The man soon calls back to tell Stu that he must tell Kelly and Pam the truth; that he's cheating. The man calls Pam and puts Stu on speaker phone, and tells her that Stu is married, that he doesn't want anything with Pam except to sleep with her. He then tells Stu to call his wife and tell her the truth. An angry Stu does so. Kelly says that a guy just called to say Stu would call her from a booth to tell her something important and Stu is distracted by two prostitutes who want to use the phone. He becomes so confused that he finally hangs up on his wife and yells to the dancers. He then tells the man he's had enough—and is told that if he hangs up, the man will shoot him. Stu doesn't believe him, but is convinced when the man cocks his gun. Stu gets scared, warning him that if he shoots the cops will arrive. However, the sniper proves him to be wrong by shooting a toy robot next to the booth without anyone noticing.

The situation escalates when the prostitutes get their pimp, Leon to approach the booth and try to ask Stu nicely to leave, but the terrified Stu refuses. The impasse between the two escalates to the point of Leon breaking into the booth with a bat and attacking Stu. The sniper tells Stu he can help and Stu reluctantly agrees. Leon is shot in the back by th e sniper and shortly after dying the police arrive and Stu is instantly the suspect. Captain Ed Ramey (Whitaker) tries to negotiate with Stu but he replies 'It's an important call'. Ramey then asks him who he's talking to, and Stu answers "My psychiatrist". The press arrives and the sniper says that Stu should be glad for all the attention he's getting. Kelly arrives and the sniper makes him confess to her about his infidelity. Pam then shows up and the sniper says that one of them can take Stu's place but Stu pleads with the sniper and manages to secretly inform Captain Ramey of his situation using his cellphone. Soon the sniper makes Stu confess his sins in front of the crowd.

Forrest Whitaker outside the boothThe police finally track down the sniper by tracing the call the sniper made to Kelly, and Ramey tells Stu through a cryptic message that they have done so. Stu triumphantly informs the sniper that the cops are coming to kill him and the sniper chooses to take Kelly with him, but Stu takes a gun planted in the ceiling by the sniper, runs out of the booth and yells "it's me you want!". A cop shoots him with a rubber bullet at the same time as the police officers reach the hotel room where the sniper is. There they find the corpse of the pizza guy. The audience is led to believe that this was the sniper all along and has committed suicide when he heard the cops coming.

When Stu is falling asleep in an ambulance minutes later due to a morphine dose, however, a man in a coat walks up to him, says that he's sorry for the pizza guy, and warns Stu that if his new-found honesty does not last, he'll be hearing from him again. Then the real sniper walks away from the scene as a voice over repeats his first words to Stu: "Isn't it funny - you hear a phone ringing and it could be anybody. But a ringing phone has to be answered, doesn't it?"
The film ends with the sound of another phone ringing, followed by a man answering, "Hello?".

My Rating : ***

Genre : Thriller

Director : Joel Schumacher

Cast : Collin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Radha Mitchell.

Chak De India

Ratings : * Avoidable ** Average *** Good **** Must Watch

Chak De India begins with the final minutes of a game between the Indian and Pakistani National Hockey Teams. Pakistan is leading 1 - 0 when Kabir is fouled. Although he did not have the ball, he is captain of the team and elects to take the penalty shot himself. However, his strike flies just above the goal, and India suffers a crushing defeat.

When a press photographer takes a picture of Kabir accepting a handshake from the head of the Pakistani team, Indian fans are outraged. Although the loss resulted only from a bad play, Kabir is accused of taking a bribe or deliberately throwing the game in sympathy with his co-religionists. An investigation is launched and Kabir is drummed out of the game. He collects his mother from the home his grandfather built, locks up the house amid cries of "Traitor" from his neighbors and disappears from public view. Seven years later, Indian sport officials have reluctantly decided to create an Indian Women's Hockey Team. No one wants to coach, and one of Kabir's former teammates is encouraged to accept the job so that he and his wife can get a free trip abroad. But unbeknownst to the officials, Kabir is waiting in reception and he is eager to take the job. Since there are no other candidates, Kabir is appointed coach.

For political reasons, the best female players from each Indian state have been chosen, without regard to the position each normally plays. Most have had to fight their family in order to join the team, and all are more loyal to their home state than to India. There is a funny "who's on first" routine between the stadium manager and some players from remote parts of India.

Kabir begins the difficult process of shaping them into a team by punishing a player who arrives late to the first practice and tossing out everyone who says she plays for her own state instead of India when introducing herself. Nevertheless, as soon as they enter the dormitory, the oldest players attempt to reintroduce the same old regional segregation, and there is much infighting.

Kabir sets a grueling training regimen, including 4 a.m., 10 k runs, speed tests and biting criticism of their performance in an effort to make them work together. He benches every player who gets into a fight or refuses to play the position he assigns her. In short order, five girls are benched. Only when they apologize are they permitted to play. The most experienced player, Bindia Naik (Shilpa Shukla), who resents being taken out of the forward line, sits on the bench for seven days before the other player from her state, who has also been benched, persuades Bindia to relent.

A couple of the players are also faced with ongoing family objections. The goalie is married, and her husband's parents are pressuring her to quit. And Preeti (Segarika Ghatge), a forward from the Railways Team, is engaged to the newly-appointed Vice-Captain of the Indian National Cricket Team. He makes no secret of his opinion that women's hockey is trivial, that only cricket is important, and that his fiancée should start living in the fast lane by giving up her inconsequential game and marrying him.

Kabir deliberately exhausts the women in the hope that if they all hate him, they will bond with each other. Unfortunately, his plan works too well, and they all sign a petition to have him removed as coach. He tells them that their attitude is a loss for India and resigns. But before he leaves, he invites his staff and the players to lunch at McDonalds. None of the women will sit with Kabir or the staff. But when a rude young man makes a pass at one of the players, she slaps him. The boy retaliates, and the team rallies to fight back. Soon, all the young men in the restaurant join in, but they are overwhelmed by the players. Kabir repeatedly prevents the staff from intervening because this is finally a bonding moment for the women. Kabir's only action is to prevent a man from striking one of the women with a cricket bat from behind, which Kabir says is not fair play.
The men are trounced and the players are finally united. Haltingly, and without actually saying so, they indicate that they want Kabir to stay as their coach. He agrees and orders them to report for practice at 5 a.m. the next day.

Just when things are looking up, the government officials decide that they will not send the women to the World Cup after all. Kabir's ex-teammate demands that they admit they intend to use that money for the men's team. But Kabir proposes a challenge: The women will play the men's team, and if the women win, they get to go to the World Cup. The match is set for the next day.

The men are stunned when they discover they are to play the women. The men quickly score 3 goals in the first half. The two most chauvinistic of the sport officials are thrilled. One of them comes onto the field at half-time as Kabir is trying to reenergize the women. The official repeats a litany of disparaging remarks about the proper place of women in Indian society (at home, in the kitchen) and their abilities (always inferior to men). This gives the women new strength, and they are able to score two goals against the men. In the final minutes, Komal (Chitrashi Rawat), another star forward who is smallest player on the team, refuses to pass the ball to Preeti, who is in scoring position, because neither will ever pass to the other. Koumal's shot is foiled, and the women lose. They are devastated.

But the men's captain honors the women, and the rest of the men's team follows suit. Then, most of the officials, who are the only spectators, rise and applaud, and the women show good sportsmanship by honoring the victors. The two chauvinistic officials have no choice but to agree to let the women go to the World Cup. The team's problems are not over, however. The team arrives in Australia, and there is real culture shock when they see the state-of-the-art training facilities and the scanty bathing suits worn by players from other countries. Worse still, the very first match is against the Australian team, which has won the Cup six times. The Australians play hard and score within the first minute, a new record.

One of the Indian players argues (in Panjabi) with an Australian referee and is given a penalty card. Another is unable to follow the referee's instructions because the player doesn't understand English. She, too, gets a penalty. Meanwhile, the Australians make a goal on every penalty shot, as well as other goals. Preeti and Komal continue to refuse to pass to each other, and this costs India. Australia wins, 7 - 0.

Moreover, Bindia is still not cooperating because she is angry that the goalie has been made team captain. She even propositions Kabir in an effort to be named team captain, but he refuses, letting her know that it is this very attitude that has caused her not to be chosen. Bindia is relegated to keeping the team water bottles full. In order to stay in the competition, India must win the next day against England. The first half is played to a 0 - 0 score. Then India manages to score in the second half and holds the lead, for a surprising victory.

The Indian team withstands tough play against Germany and returns the dirty tricks of the Argentine team tit for tat, although Preeti and Komal still refuse to work together, much to Kabir's frustration. As the Indian team wins one surprising victory after another, press and fans become more and more excited. One night, Kabir watches in awe as an Australian worker raises the Indian flag above the field. It's the first time Kabir has ever seen a "white man" raise the Indian flag, and Kabir feels enormous pride.

Then India must defeat Korea. The Korean team uses man-to-man marking, which Preeti, Komal, and the other forwards don't know how to overcome. Kabir tells Bindia that there is a job that only she can do for the team. Bindia goes into the game, and the Koreans are no match for her aggressive and experienced style of play. Now India will face Australia again in the finals. There is worldwide excitement about these underdogs who came back from the worst rout in World Cup history to reach the finals. Crates of new equipment arrive unexpectedly from the makers of athletic equipment. Kabir receives universal respect from his international peers. A special dinner is held for the two finalist teams the night before the big match. The Indian team enters demurely in matching saris marked with the national colors. The Australians parade in black evening gowns, each one different. But the matching saris cannot conceal the fact that the Indian team is still not unified the way the Australians are.

Preeti and Komal are lured onto the field by misleading messages. As each accuses the other of calling her out, Kabir appears. He tells them that India is going to lose the Cup the next day because there are two Indian players who will be playing for Australia, not India. He tells them that the Australians are not blind. They see that Preeti and Komal will not pass to each other. After he leaves, Preeti, who has so far scored more goals than Komal, insists that she, Preeti, will finish with more goals no matter what. Preeti feels she must do this in order to prove herself to her husband's parents.

The next day, India shocks the Australians by achieving an early goal, but poor teamwork by India allows the Australians to score two goals. In the final minutes, Komal has the ball and the Australians are sure she won't pass to Preeti. But Komal rises above her personal desires, passes to Preeti, and the score is tied. There is no score in extra time, so each side gets five strikes. Kabir picks Preeti among the five strikers, but she defers to Komal.

India must go first, but the strike is blocked. Unfortunately, the Australians score against the Indian goalie. The same thing happens with the second shot for each side. Then Koumal makes a brilliant strike that goes in the net, and the score is now 4 - 3 Australia. The Australian strike is blocked. The results for the fourth strike are the same for both sides as for the third strike. Bindia takes the final strike for India and it is perfect. India leads 5 - 4, but the Australians have one more strike.

Kabir watches the Australian striker and sees where she intends to place the ball. Through force of will, he gets his goalie to look at him moments before the shot and signals to her where it will go. The shot is blocked by the Indian team captain, the same post Kabir held when his shot cost India the match against Pakistan seven years earlier, and he is redeemed. India triumphs.

All India goes wild. The returning victors are mobbed by press and fans. The captain/goalie's husband tells her how proud his parents are and Komal's father, who disliked her joining the team, gives her a new hockey stick and advises her to hit any man who objects to his daughter playing hockey in the head with the new stick. Preeti's (forward) fiancé arrives with his own media following. Although he was furious that she refused to abandon competing for the Cup because it conflicted with the date he and her father had chosen for her wedding without ever consulting her, the fiancé now intends to propose to her again, in front of the entire world. He won't entertain the idea that she might refuse him. Of course, she does refuse him, telling him that now that everyone knows her name, she doesn't need to marry him, and he should try to learn some sportsmanship.

The players emerge and everyone calls for Kabir. The press report on his past playing skill with nothing but praise, as if he had never been forced out of the game by negative public opinion and journalistic irresponsibility. However, Kabir he is nowhere to be found. He has slipped away to rejoin his mother and bring her back home. As he reopens his house, the neighbors who called him "Traitor" gather quietly. He watches as a young Sikh boy scratches the hateful graffiti from the wall in front of his house. He gives him his old hockey stick and he runs off, filled with joy. The neighbors begin to applaud. Kabir is vindicated. He enters his house and closes the doors. He is home.

My Rating : ****

Genre : Sports/Drama

Director : Shimit Amin

Cast : Shahrukh Khan, Vidhya Malvade, Sagarika Ghatge, Shilpa Shukla.

Hotel Rwanda

Ratings : * Avoidable ** Average *** Good **** Must Watch

The film Hotel Rwanda, set in 1994, is based on the genocide in Rwanda, in which millions died due to an abusive government and a non-intervening outside world. In the film, tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi people lead to a civil war in which the Tutsis are massacred for their former rule over the nation. Paul Rusabagina (portrayed by Don Cheadle), the manager of Sabena Hôtel des Mille Collines, is torn between the sides, as he is Hutu while his wife, Tatiana (Okonedo), is Tutsi, a relationship that has him deemed a traitor by fellow Hutu, including George Rutaganda, a supplier of items to the hotel and Hutu extremist who unsuccessfully presses Paul to join the Interahamwe, an extremist anti-Tutsi group.

Upon the eve of the civil war, Paul’s neighbors and family look to him for leadership, and with the sacking of his own home, he must deliver this group from the ruthless Hutu who are determined to wipe out the entirety of the Tutsis. After bartering with a high-ranking officer for the safety of his friends and family, Paul brings them to his hotel. Over time, more refugees flood into the hotel, as the UN's refugee camp has become either too crowded or too dangerous to journey to. With time, the hotel becomes overcrowded, and Paul must handle diverting the Hutu soldiers, caring for the refugees, and maintaining the hotel.

The UN Peacekeeping forces, led by Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte), is present as well, but despite Oliver's constant attempts to help Paul, his sympathy towards the refugees, and his disdain for the non-caring world powers, the forces are ineffectual against the Interhamwe (as evidenced by their willingness to murder UN soldiers).

As the Interhamwe advance on the hotel, the stress begins to take its toll on Paul and his family. The UN forces attempt to lead an escape for several of the refugees, including Paul's family, but are turned back after an altercation with the Interhamwe. In a last ditch effort to save the refugees, Paul speaks Hutu army general, Augustin Bizimun gu (Fana Mokoena) and attempts to blackmail him with threats of being tried as a war criminal with no hope of salvation beyond Paul's testimony, which he will only give in response to the safe passage of the refugees to the UN refugee camp. Bizimungu agrees and they return to the hotel, only to find it under siege. Bizimungu's forces bring an end to the chaos as Paul frantically looks for his wife and family, whom he had earlier advised to jump from the roof of the hotel should anything go wrong. After several minutes of searching, Paul finds them hiding in a bathroom and they and the refugees leave in a UN convoy. Despite a brief moment of panic wherein the Hutu approach the convoy, ready to strike, the convoy reaches its destination behind rebel lines, ensuring the safety of Paul and the refugees. As the film concludes, Paul finds his two young nieces, whose parents had been slain earlier in the film, and takes them along with his family on a bus departing the country.

My Rating : ***

Genre : Drama

Director : Terry George

Cast : Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Ahmed Panchbaya, Nick Nolte, Jean Reno